Mishpatim

Just a few questions to get you started thinking about this week's parasha:

• What is familiar in this week's Torah reading?
• What is disturbing in this week's reading?
• What do you find meaningful in your own life about this reading?
• What do you think about the relationship between this week's parasha and last week's?
• If you were forced to choose, which do you think is the most important law in this list of laws for humanity in general?  For the Jewish people in particular?  Explain your answers.
• Create a "top ten" list of laws in this parasha, as if you were writing for Dave Letterman.  Explain your choices
• Create a "bottom ten" list - explain your choices
• Choose one of the commentaries from those here at My Jewish Learning that you find particularly relevant and bring it to the table for discussion with your group.

Clothes Make the Man?

A blogpost at the Lede Blog, at the NY Times, is entitled "An 'Israeli Remix' of a Palestinian Scarf".  It is the story of the creation and marketing of a keffiyeh, traditionally worn by Arab men, with Jewish and Israeli motifs.  It started me thinking about the role of clothing in expression of identity.

Big Idea:

• People choose their clothing for many different reasons
• First impressions of others are often based on appearance

Questions You Will Want to Ask

• How do you decide what to wear?
• What is your response when you see someone wearing a keffiyeh?  Why?
• What message do you expect your appearance to convey?
• How does  your Jewish identity influence what you wear?

Learning Activities:

•  The Kohen Gadol wore very elaborate clothing as a symbol of his status and role in the community.  You can read about this clothing here in a commentary on Parshat Tetzaveh
• An interesting article about Jewish clothing in the Middle Ages can be found here at My Jewish Learning
• At Aish.com you can read a history of the kippah, including an explanation of the term 'yarmulke' that may be new to you.
• Some Jewish clothing is really bizarre - 5 pages of Jewish dog clothes?
• There is a holiday coming up on which costumes play a big part. 

Assessment:

• Keep a log in which you describe how what you choose to wear each day for a week expresses your identity
• Keep a log in which you describe how something you choose to wear each day for a week expresses your Jewish identity.  How did it make you feel to do this?
• Create a display of traditional Jewish clothing from different times and places in history
• Make a video in which you explain items of Jewish ritual clothing (kippah, tzitzit, tallit or other) to someone unfamiliar with them
• Design a Purim costume for yourself that expresses an aspect of your Jewish identity (you don't have to wear it, just design it!  In the U.S. it is common to wear costumes on Purim that reference Jewish heroes.  Not necessarily so in Israel.)
• Describe your reaction to the blogpost on the 'Jewish' keffiyah. 
• What do you think about it? 
• Would you wear it? 
• Do you think it is problematic to adopt another group's dress?
• What is your thought about the reaction of others to this?

Haiti and Tzedakah

No one can be unmoved by the tragic outcomes of the recent earthquake in Haiti.  There is no questioning the hardships that exist and continue to affect the inhabitants of this country.  During the past few weeks millions of dollars have been collected from people all over the world who feel they want to help fellow human beings who are in trouble.

What guidance can we derive from Jewish wisdom?

Big Ideas:

• Tzedakah is an obligation.
• There is Jewish thinking that can help us decide when to give, to whom to give, what to give, how to give.

Essential Questions:

• When should I give?
• To whom should I give?
• How much should I give?
• What is my obligation to determine if the money I am giving is being put to good use?

Learning Activities:  Choose as many as you feel you have time for.  Or, divide your learners into groups and let each group select the aspect it wants to investigate, sharing results with the rest of the class.  Be sure to include at least one site describing Jewish wisdom about tzedakah and either scambusters.com or CharityNavigator.org.

• A traditional and detailed explanation of Jewish thinking about tzedakah is at this link, Just Tzedakah.  The site appears not to be maintained currently, and the links may not be active, but the information is well-cited and clear
• My Jewish Learning has a brief presentation of the rules governing tzedakah, and includes the question of how to determine if a claim is honest
• Maimonides described 8 degrees of tzedakah, which you can read about here
• Read the information at www.scambusters.com/ and http://www.charitynavigator.org/, two websites that evaluate the authenticity of groups collecting money for various causes, including disaster relief in Haiti
• A Conservative perspective on tzedakah is given in this post
• URJ has responded to the earthquake in Haiti in the following ways: Earthquake in Haiti
• USCJ has the following opportunity to give to Haiti:  Disaster Relief Fund - Give to Haiti
• The Orthodox Union has a Facebook page you can access concerning Haiti relief
• JRF has a page with links to a number of different reliable organizations which are accepting donations and aiding Haiti

Assessment:

• Learners will make informed decisions about donating to disaster relief in Haiti
• Learners will be able to explain how Jewish wisdom and thought guides decisions they make in their lives
• Learners will use what they have learned in regard to Haiti to guide their tzedakah in other areas.

Note:  There are legitimate differences among Jewish authorities as to one's responsibility for determining if someone who asks is honestly needy.  Some say you give first to whomever asks, and investigate later.  According to Rabbi Benjamin Yudin of Congregation Shomrei Torah, in Fairlawn, NJ, one gives first to whomever asks, since God is "rav hessed v'emet:, and the hessed of giving preceeds the emet of investigation (I heard this from a valued colleague, Emily Amie Witty, who shared the thoughts of her Rabbi with me as I was preparing this post).  Others say that one has the responsibility to be sure the tzedakah is going to a reliable cause.  In order to do this one should investigate the legitimacy of the recipient individual or group before giving. 
You may want to have this discussion with your students, and perhaps invite a member of the clergy in your school to participate in the conversation.
Part of our job as Jewish educators is to empower our students of all ages to make responsible decisions guided by Jewish thinking, and responding to the tragedy in Haiti can help us do just that.

Yitro

Big Ideas:

• A person's position often affects the way in which that person is perceived.
• The way in which one understands the events at Sinai is fundamental to one's religious beliefs.
• Mainstream Jewish thinkers understand Sinai differently.

Some Questions:

• In chapter 18, almost every verse has a reference to Yitro.  In each case Yitro is identified as "Hoten Moshe", Moshe's father-in-law.  Do you have any thoughts about why this label is repeated over and over?  Wouldn't it be enough to identify him by name after the first time?
• How do you understand the event that occurred at Sinai?  What Jewish thinker shares your understanding?
• How does your understanding of Sinai affect the way you are Jewish? 

Learning Activities:

• Read chapter 18 carefully.  How many times is Yitro referred to as "hoten Moshe"?  How do you understand this?
• Find information that describes these Jewish thinkers' beliefs about revelation.
• Joseph Soloveitchik
• Abraham Joshua Heschel
• Eugene Borowitz
• Mordecai Kaplan

Assessment:

• Choose one of the people you learned about and prepare a presentation for the rest of the group explaining why this understanding of revelation is meaningful for you.
• Create a chart that compares and contrasts the various ways in which Jews understand the events at Sinai
• Find evidence in the popular culture of the world around you that a person's position affects the way in which he or she is heard and understood.  Who do we listen to?  Who do we ignore?  

Avatar and Jewish Education??

You can enter the words "Avatar" and "Jewish" in a search engine and find numerous discussions of the content of the movie and its Jewish underpinnings (or not!).  It is of no concern to me whether James Camaron had Jewish thoughts in his head when he created the movie or not.  It simply is not an issue for me as a Jewish educator.  What does matter is how the viewer understands the movie.  Our learners are going to see this movie.  Is Jewish thought a factor in how they  understand it?  That's my issue.


Big Idea:

• Everyone sees and understands the world through his or her own perspective.
• Most of our students have already or will soon see the movie Avatar.
• As teachers we have an obligation to be familiar with the culture within which our students live.
• As Jews we have a Jewish lens with which to understand the world.

Questions to guide your thinking:

• What did you see in the movie that appeared to you to reflect Jewish thought or wisdom?
• What did you see in the movie that seems to contradict Jewish thought or wisdom?

Learning Activities:

• The Talmud says the following:  "We do not see things as they are.  We see them as we are."  How does this statement relate to your ideas about Avatar? (Note:  I've seen this quotation many times (even here!), but don't have a proper source.  Perhaps a reader can help me.)
• There is a website, Jewish Wisdom Quotes, that lists dozens of sayings with Jewish origins that you are welcome to visit.  Choose a topic that interests you from their list of possibilities, and explain how it applies in your life.

Assessment:

• You may want to encourage your students to choose a wisdom quote each week and find examples in the news of its application in the world
• When this idea of using a Jewish lens to see the world is learned, you can challenge your learners to apply Jewish wisdom to any and all issues that arise in class.
• A personal note:  I love reading comics.  Most days I can find a comic strip that either reflects or contradicts Jewish thinking.  Suggest this to your students.

Rewards in Education

Every teacher in every school has faced the challenge of motivating students.  Some of our learners are easy - they seem to motivate themselves.  Others are not so easy - seeming to "dare" us to make them care about what they are learning.  The problem is perhaps even more visible in congregational religious schools.  We are asking our students to learn things that by no stretch of their imaginations add any value  to their lives (aside from the value of Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations and presents).

What are we to do?

According to a recently published book - "Drive" - by Daniel Pink, we have good reason to think carefully about how we respond to student effort and achievement.  According the the research he describes, rewards may be counterproductive - students come to value the reward over the accomplishment, and to demand ever bigger and more costly rewards for their work.  An article in the NY Times about the book explains his thinking.

This is not a new idea.  Alfie Kohn, a well-known educational thinker, has long been writing about the negative aspects of reward, as you can see by reading his articles about the subject on his website.

For those who struggle with motivating a group of students, or with responding to disruptive classroom behaviors, this may sound at best idealistic and at worst impossible.  After all, what's wrong with a few chocolate kisses if they lead to better performance and improved behavior?

Here are a few links to articles which may suggest alternatives:

• Education World Professional Professional Development Channel provides links to a variety of resources on reward
• One Question a Day is an article that describes one school that decided to experiment with making reward more intrinsic than extrinsic by inviting students to answer questions about their behavior in different situations.
• Rewarding Systems is an examination of the advantages and disadvantages of both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, and concludes that there are points to be made in favor of each, but with cautions about both that should be noted.

As usual, the challenges are many, the solutions varied, and the decisions to a certain extent personal.  The most important thing is to learn as much as we can - from both research and experience - and to use what we learn thoughtfully and responsibly.  

B'Hatzlachah.

Beshalach

Big Ideas:

• It takes repeated experiences to internalize learning.
• People need to learn to take an active role in their fate, not depend totally on intervention of others - even when the "other" is God.
• In some situations people are unable to solve their own problems - they require the assistance of others

Questions to Think About and Try to Answer:

• How is it possible that the Israelites were still complaining after what God had already done for them?
• Why would God choose a route for the escaping Israelites that avoids confrontation with potential enemies?
• What do you think God expects of these former slaves?  Is God's expectation reasonable?
• In your opinion, do the Israelites live up to God's expectations?  Explain why you think they do or don't.
• What is Moshe's role at this point in the story?  Do you think God is satisfied with Moshe's actions?  What is your evidence?
• What are the implications for our lives today?
• Is there anything in this parasha that can help you make sense of the tragedy in Haiti?

Learning Activites:

• G-dcast.com has an interesting focus for this week's parasha.  Watch the video for a thoughtful explanation of why the Israelites complain so much, and a perspective about the nature of their complaints.
• The New York Times had an article about Israel's response to the earthquake in Haiti.  You can access the article by typing "For Israelis, Mixed Feelings on Aid Effort" in your search engine (Google or other.  Be sure to use the quotation marks around the title to find the article easily).  On the one hand there is praise for the speed and expertise that was evident in the way the Israeli team is working to save survivors of this tragedy.  There is also reference to a criticism within Israel - why is it that Israel can respond to the suffering in Haiti and not in Gaza?  Compare and contrast the situations by answering the following questions about each place:
• What is the nature of the problem?
• What are the causes for the problem?
• Who is responsible for the problem?
• Who is able to solve the problem?
• Who is responsible for the solution?
• What are the obstacles to a solution?
• There is a midrash that says Yam Suf only split after the Israelites stepped in and the water came up to their nostrils.  What do you think that midrash wants us to understand?

Assessment:

• Learners should be able to summarize the parasha
• Learners should be able to apply the Jewish wisdom in this lesson to their own lives
• Learners should be able to articulate some of the complex issues in the relationship between Israel and Gaza.

Note:  This parasha and others make a good case for the idea that everything - both good and bad - is intentionally caused by God.  The thought that our One God is responsible for everything has been an issue that Jews and those who follow religions based on Judaism (Christians and Moslems) have struggled with for as long as these religions have existed.  The issue is called "theodicy", a Greek term summarized by the following question:  If God is all-powerful and also good, why is there evil in the world?  You may want to read more about theodicy and how different Jewish thinkers respond to this tension.  I particularly recommend the book Sacred Fragments, by Dr. Neil Gillman.

Bo

It's always a challenge to find new ways of seeing familiar text.  Parashat Bo is well-known as one of the foundation texts for our celebration of the Pesach seder - the questions, the matza and maror, the Pesach itself.  Here are some things you may not have thought about before:

• According to Rambam, this whole experience was really a test for those Israelites who were living as assimilated people in Egypt.  How was it a test?  What made it a challenge?  What do you think this felt like to the Israelites?
• Many of the traditional commentaries refer to the idea that only 20% of Israelites chose to leave Egypt with Moshe and Aharon.  In fact, there is an opinion (Torah.org, paragraphs 7 and 8, referring to Rashi's interpretation) that the 80% who were not willing to leave were killed during the plague of darkness.  I did not see a reference to this in any of the liberal commentaries I read.  Why do you suppose the more traditional commentaries talk about this and not the modern, liberal commentaries?
• According to Dr. Eliezer Diamond, in his commentary from February 2006, it is challenging to think of ourselves as obligated to God's service - especially in our individualistic culture.  Where is our autonomy if we are obligated to God?  What does it mean to be free?  Is there a purpose to the ending of Egyptian slavery beyond the immediate release?
• This section of Torah coincides with the celebration of Martin Luther King Day.  There is a wonderful photographic essay on the Jews and Blacks in America that illustrates the roles Jews played in the civil rights movement in the United States.  The last few pages also highlight some of challenges to the relationship between Jews and Blacks that have developed over time.  Your students might be interested in seeing this article.
• Here are some customs you may not be familiar with (from Answers.com).  How do they express the big ideas of Passover?  Which of these customs might you want to incorporate into your own celebration of Passover?

"The Samaritans in Erets Israel observe the Passover rites on Mount Gerizim near Shechem. To this day, the slaughter of the paschal lamb is the climax of their ceremony. A number of sheep are set aside on 10 Nisan. On the eve of the 14th they are slaughtered, roasted for six hours in ovens dug in the earth, and distributed to the families to be eaten in their homes with bitter herbs, to the accompaniment of song and dance. 

"The Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) cease to eat leaven three days before the festival, consuming only dried peas and beans until Passover eve. Then they fast until their high priest slaughters the paschal lamb on an altar in the courtyard of the synagogue. The blood is sprinkled around the entrance to the building. 

"In the Caucasus, the Jews wear clothes of "freedom" with wide, loose sleeves, some with a dagger or even a pistol in their belt. They reenact a drama in which one of their number goes out, knocks on the door and pretends he has just arrived from Jerusalem. All the others ask him for news of the Holy City and whether he has a message of liberation and redemption.

"Certain Sephardim and Oriental communities also enact a drama, eating hastily, standing, with loins girded and staff in hand, like the Israelites in Egypt. Some wrap the afikoman in a cloth which they put over their shoulder and leave the room saying, "This is how our ancestors left Egypt."

"The secret Jews of Spain and Portugal, the Marranos, observed the festival on 16 Nisan in order to avoid suspicion on the previous day. They clandestinely baked unleavened bread on that day and held a secret Seder at which they consumed a whole roast sheep while wearing traveling shoes and holding staffs in their hands. Marranos in Mexico smeared their doorposts with the blood of lambs, like the ancient Israelites, and beat the waters of a stream with willow branches to symbolize the crossing of the Red Sea.

An afterthought:

This parasha happens to be my own Bat Mitzvah portion.  Interestingly, as my Bat Mitzvah observance was held on a Friday night I never actually studied the Torah portion - only the Haftorah.  In retrospect, what a shame I missed the opportunity to be aware that this powerful text was to be read the following morning!!  On the other hand, perhaps when I was younger the power of the words would not have been as impressive to me as it is today.  And here is one of the challenges I believe is at the heart of the Jewish educational system as it is today, particularly in pre-Bar/Bat Mitzvah settings.

How do we find the opportunity to support mature understanding of Jewish wisdom, thought and experience if the only people we encounter in our educational programs are children?

It's a big question.

Odds and Ends, Thoughts and Ideas, Challenges and Questions

This post is longer than usual, but I hope you will find many things to think about.  And tonight is Shabbat, so you should have plenty of time to do your thinking!!
Please share your thoughts with the rest of the reading community so we can learn from each other.


From Michael Tucker, in the AARP Bulletin, January 1, 2010 edition on-line.

"Pen Man"

"You’d think that Indianapolis teacher Dan Stroup would have major writer’s cramp by now. That’s because every past and present student of his eighth-grade Bible class receives a personal, handwritten birthday letter from him every year. “I wanted them to know that I not only cared about them in the classroom but outside the classroom,” says Stroup, 54, who teaches at Heritage Christian School. Stroup figures he’s penned about 33,000 letters to 2,500 students over 25 years, using regular pens and tablets of lined paper. “If students know I care about them, they’re more open to what I teach,” he says."

What a wonderful idea - and what a valuable suggestion.  Can you think of ways to show your students  that you care about them?  How about helping them learn their Hebrew birthdays through a lesson on the Jewish calendar, and using that as an opportunity to both reinforce their connection to Judaism and to let them know you are thinking about them.  Just a thought.

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from Jeffrey Rosen, NYT Magazine, January 8, 2010:  Prisoners of Parole
Rosen writes about a pilot project to reduce parole violations, and through that reduce jail time, in Hawaii.  He writes that

"...a variety of recent research suggest[s] that people are more likely to obey the law when they view law enforcement as fair and legitimate."

While Rosen focuses on law enforcement and ways in which that can be more effective, surely the same ideas are relevant in the classroom.  The words that appear over and over in articles about classrooms that work include the following words:  fair, firm, consistent.  That is the big idea of Rosen's article, and it is a big idea in teaching and learning.
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from John Tagliabue, NY Times, January 5, 2010:  Rising Price of Faith in France's Shrinking Parishes
France has a problem with its churches.  The population is less and less active in religious practice, the number of priests is a fraction of what it once was, and the cost of upkeep of the admittedly beautiful buildings is higher and higher.  The solution in some towns has been to continue to support the traditional buildings, while in others the decision has been made to demolish what have become underused and increasingly expensive structures and replace them with modern and more efficient buildings.

"In other countries, notably England and Italy, disused houses of worship have been converted into homes, stores or museums. In France, there is an emotional resistance to the practice, though in Dijon, an abandoned church now serves as a theater, and in Alsace, also in the east, former synagogues now serve as museums."

Why am I bringing this article?  In my opinion the fundamental problem is inability or unwillingness to think seriously about the future.  For our institutions the questions we must ask include the following:

• What is the infrastructure that is necessary to support a future that may look very different from today?  
• Do our buildings meet the needs of tomorrow's Jewish populations?  
• Do our institutions support creative and innovative programs that engage people whose connections to Judaism are based on a variety of different forces?  
• Are we encouraging platforms for developing community that are realistic for today and tomorrow?

These are really important, really challenging, really tough questions.  We need to begin to answer them now.
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Footnotes in Gaza is a new book by Joe Sacco, reviewed on December 27, 2009 in the New York Times Book Review.  It suggests that the reason for Palestinian hatred of Israel can be traced to 2 incidents in 1956 during which Israeli troops massacred Arab residents during one of the many wars between Israel and her neighbors which have taken place over time.  Two letters to the editor of the NY Times challenge this assertion.
Choosing an arbitrary date on which to begin a historical narrative ignores what came before.  In the case of the Middle East situation one can hardly claim seriously that the conflict began in 1956.  How the author/illustrator does this is one thing - how the reviewer repeats this ridiculous accusation is even worse.
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from David Brooks, January 12, 2010: The Tel Aviv Cluster
If you want to feel really proud of being Jewish and having Israel 'in the family', read this article.
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If you are teaching about the Holocaust, or even if it is not a part of your regular curriculum, please take time to note with your students the death of Miep Gies, who helped hide Anne Frank in Amsterdam and saved her diary when the Frank family was deported to Auschwitz.  A detailed obituary is available at Legacy.com .  You can find a good resource for learning about her and about World War II at the following website:   http://teacher.scholastic.com/frank/miep.htm .  There are lesson plans appropriate for grades 4 - 8 on that website as well.
If you are looking for a Jewish source of information about Righteous Gentiles, this link to the Jewish Virtual Library website is a good resource.  It does not mention Ms. Gies, but it does mention several others who risked their lives to save Jews during the Shoah.

Va'Era

This parasha (summary here at My Jewish Learning, full text here at Mechon Mamre) continues the drama of liberation from Egypt.  Most of us are familiar with the story line, having heard it many times as children and as adults either in studying Torah or in celebrating Pesach around a seder table.
I have a few questions for you to think about:

• Moshe is 80 years old when this part of the story begins.  I wonder, in today's society, when things change at a greater rate than ever before in history (as this story, Old Fogies in their 20's , shows quite dramatically) how do we relate to our elders?  In what ways is it possible to respect the wisdom of age while at the same time valuing the importance of change?
• Does it matter to you that there may be a natural explanation for the plagues, as explained here in an article entitled "A Skeptic's Guide to Passover", by Michael Lukas published in Slate last spring?
• What if there is a scientific explanation?
• What if there isn't?
• Is there a relationship between the way we remember the story of Hanukkah and the way we remember the exodus from Egypt?  Can you compare and contrast these two stories in terms of the role of God, in terms of miracles, in terms of how we celebrate?
• How can you reconcile the idea of Free Will, a basic understanding of Judaism, with the story of how God "hardened Paro's heart" in this parasha?
• There is a traditional saying in Hebrew:  "One mitzvah leads to another, one sin leads to another."  How might this apply to Paro's actions?
• If Paro didn't have a choice about his actions, should he have been punished?
• Is there a  traditional Jewish attitude toward people who are oppressed?  Toward slavery?  There were Jewish slaveholders in this country before the Civil War, as you can read in this article from JewishEncyclopedia.com.
• How does it make you feel to know there were Jewish slaveholders?
• Why do you think Jews who lived in the north were mostly opposed to slavery, while those who lived in the south mostly supported it?
• Do Jews have any special responsibility to confront injustice in the world?
• If you answered yes, explain why you think so.
• If you answered no, explain why you think not.
• Do you think that the Hebrews who were living in Egypt in slavery thought about leaving before Moshe and Aharon came to talk to Paro?  Why?
• Why do you think God insisted on so many plagues?  Couldn't God have rescued the Jews more quickly and without so many bells and whistles?

What are the big ideas you think we can learn from this parasha?

Shemot

New year, new book of the Torah, new ideas (I hope)!

Beginning with the first verses of the parasha, we have a review of the names of those who came into Egypt.  As teachers we know that before we can go forward we have to be sure our learners remember what came before (although I sincerely doubt that in the early days of Torah study this parasha came after the December vacation.  Of course, it doesn't always fall out that way now either!)
We also learn from the text that the descendants of Yaakov have become quite numerous - so numerous that they are viewed as a threat by the Egyptians.  And, according to verse 12, their numbers apparently "embarass" the Egyptians.

• Why should the Egyptians be "embarassed"?
• Do you think the Hebrews are assimilated into the general population or not?  What is your evidence? 

The story of the two midwives (Shifrah and Puah) who rebel against Paro's orders to kill the Hebrew boy babies is familiar to most of us, but I never noticed the reward before (look at 1:21)

• Do you think the midwives are Hebrews or Egyptians?  What is your evidence?
• Why do you think they disobeyed Paro's direct order?  Did they really think he would believe the story they told him about why the babies lived?  What might the consequences be for their disloyalty?
• If the midwives were in fact Egyptian, can you think of a different time in history when people who were not part of the Jewish people saved Jews?  Explain your answer.

Skipping down to the second chapter we learn of the birth of a baby to an as-yet unnamed couple from the tribe of Levi.  We all know that he was put in a "teva" at the age of 3 months and adopted by Paro's daughter.  For a few years he is nursed by his birth mother.
In 2:10 Moshe comes to live with Paro's daughter.

In 2:11 he is described as "grown".

• Fill in the blanks - what happened between verse 10 and verse 11?
• What was Moshe's childhood like?  How was he treated by the Egyptians around him?  Did he think he was different from them?  Did he wonder about his birth parents?  Did they wonder about him?  Did everyone know what his background was?  How did he see himself - as an Egyptian noble?  as a Hebrew?

When Moshe saw the Egyptian who was attacking a Hebrew, he looked around - 

• Why?
• What was he looking for?
• What did he find?

The next day (according to the text) he went out again and tried to stop a fight between two Hebrews.

• What happened?
• Why did Moshe run away?
• According to the text, Paro was ready to kill Moshe.  But he had raised him as a grandson.  What does that suggest to you about Paro? 

Moshe marries the daughter of Yitro, a Midianite priest.  He names their first son Gershom

• What does Gershom mean?
• Who is the 'Ger'?  Where is the 'sham'?  Think about the possibilities.

In 2:24 we hear that God heard the groaning of the people, and remembered his covenant with Avraham, with Yitzhak, and with Yaakov.

• Why now?
• Where has God been all this time?

In 4:14 we read that God is angry with Moshe.

• Why is God angry?
• Do you think God has a right to be impatient with Moshe?

In 4:23 God tells Moshe what to threaten Paro with.

• Why is this here?
• What is the relationship between the threat here and what is to come?

6:1   Then the Lord said to Moshe, "Now you will see what I will do to Paro,  for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land."

• Does anything strike you about this phrase (look at the Hebrew if you are not sure)?
• Does the wording surprise you?  Explain.

Here are a few sources you may want to read for help in answering the questions above.  

• Becoming a Leader by Rabbi Shimon Felix may help you understand how Moshe evolved as a leader.
• This article from Haaretz by Naftaly Gliksberg focuses on the interchange between Paro's daughter and Moshe's sister - very interesting and not a perspective I have thought about before.
• The Bumpy Road to Redemption by Rabbi Avraham Fischer deals with the impatience we often feel when things don't go quickly enough for us.
• Rabbi Avi Weiss, of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, uses the story to ask some important questions about our willingness to take a stand when necessary.

Jews and God, and VaYechi Redux

I just watched Julia Sweeney's one-woman show "Letting Go of God" on Showtime.  She is a very funny comedian who was raised Catholic and has become a proud atheist.  The monolog is funny and engaging, and if you are interested in seeing it you can either watch the first 15 minutes or so on YouTube or, which I recommend, the entire show on Showtime (if you have it).  The schedule is here  - just go to "more airings" for the times and dates.

The first time I was the show I missed the beginning, and just watched the last portion.  What struck me was her description of a conversation she had with someone after her father died, and when she had already decided she was sure there was no God.

Her friend said to her, not exactly in these words, but close:  "You know you're Jewish."

Sweeney was surprised, and asked what was meant by that comment.

The answer was that what she was doing - struggling to understand God - was a particularly Jewish thing.  Almost obligatory, if I remember the exchange properly.

And I loved that comment.  We do struggle to understand God.  And we have room in our Jewish community for many ways of understanding God.  And that, to me, is one of the most wonderful things about Judaism.

Jewish thinking is questioning - not simply memorizing and repeating.  We know that, and we need to help our learners - whatever their ages - to learn that.

On her blog, juliasweeney.blogspot.com, she wrote the following:

I am thinking about some of the questions that people have asked.  Some people worry about having meaning in a world without god in it.  I don't have the best answer for that yet (I am mulling on that one) but I remember once being at a convention with Daniel Dennett (such a hero of mine) and he said (Dennet is a philosopher and scientist at Tufts and has written several books, some of which really impacted me) and anyway, he was talking to someone else and he said, "People say to me, 'You're a philosopher, what is the meaning of life?' and I say, 'I don't know but I do know the secret to happiness.  Find some subject that you love and spend the rest of your life studying it from every angle you can.  That is the secret to happiness."

 My personal opinion is that God is precisely what helps me find meaning in the world.  I do, however, appreciate the statement about finding some subject that you love and studying it for your entire life.  That subject will be different for different people.
In fact, if we look back at Yaakov's blessing of his sons we can understand them as recognizing and celebrating the various talents of each one.  Jewish wisdom?  Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligences?  Learning Styles?  Myers Briggs?

It's a wonderful day when there is overlap between what I learn in the scientific world about thinking and what I learn in the world of Jewish thinking.

Parshat VaYechi

The end of the book of B'reisheet, this parasha is also the end of the stories of the avot and imahot - the founding generations who were the source of the Jewish people.  The book is called B'reisheet - In the beginning - because of the first word of the first parasha, and refers to the beginning of the world, to the creation.  I would like to suggest that it is also an appropriate title for the entire first book:  B'reisheet - In the beginning of the creation and development of the People of Israel.

A big section of this parasha is devoted to the blessings Yaakov/Yisrael gives to his sons.  There are many ways to understand these blessings.

Before reading any of the commentaries, I urge you to look at the text of the blessings and see if the text raises any questions for you.  B'reisheet Chapters 48 to the end of the book.
Here are a couple of thoughts to get you started:

• Why does it take a third party to let Yosef know his father is sick, and to let Yaakov know Yosef is coming?
• Why does Yosef bring his sons?  Why doesn't Yaakov (here referred to as Yisrael) recognize them?
• Why do you think Yisrael reverses his hands when he blesses Yosef's sons?  What does it remind you of?
• What do you expect Yisrael to say to all his sons?  Why?
• What surprises you about the blessings of the sons?
• Do you think Yisrael has changed during his lifetime?  Explain why you think so.
• Why do you think Yisrael wants to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah?  Why not with his favorite wife Rachel, who is buried in Bethlehem?
• Why do you think Yosef had his father embalmed?
• Why do you think the Egyptians mourned Yisrael?
• Why do you think Yosef's children and animals remained in Egypt, in Goshen, when Yosef and his brothers went to bury Yisrael?
• What do you think about the brothers telling Yosef what their father supposedly said to them before he died?  What does it tell you about them?  What does Yosef's answer tell you about Yosef?
• In what way does this parasha satisfy you (or not) as the end of the first section of Torah?

The following commentaries suggest a few interesting interpretations, but don't answer all the questions above.

• Yaakov 'opens his tent' to the diverse natures of his sons.  This commentary from Rabbi Kerry Olitzky builds on that thought
• Aish HaTorah describes in detail the blessings of each of Yaakov's sons.  Go especially to the sections which are entitled Blessing the Tribes and The Future Leader for some traditional insights into the blessings.
• Rabbi Elyse Winnick talks about the blessings at Hillel.com in an article entitled All in the Family.  I think she raises some thoughtful ideas about the tension between community and individual that are particularly relevant to our lives today.

Can you come up with your own interpretation of any part of the parasha?

Hazak, Hazak, VeNitchazek!

VaYigash II

Just some more thoughts on Yosef before Shabbat -
As I read the text describing Yosef I can't help but think of all the adolescent and post-adolescent Jewish kids who have separated themselves from the Jewish community.
Think about it.

• He lives in Egypt, among the Egyptians.
• He dresses like them, talks like them, marries the daughter of one of their priests, even names his firstborn son a name that means (according to at least some commentators) "the one who causes me to forget my background) and - according to this blog I was reading - isn't even a Hebrew name!
• He has so carefully hidden his identity as a member of the family of Yaakov that his brothers don't recognize him even after more than one meeting and extensive conversations with him.

Is this the person one would expect to fulfill the role of savior of the descendants of Avraham and Yitzhak?  I wouldn't think so.

So maybe one lesson here is not to write anyone off - not the one who quits religious school the day after his Bar Mitzvah, not the one who refuses to join Hillel in college because it's not important to her, not the one who chooses a mate of a different religion.

Because if we look at the Torah, the text which defines us as Jews, it seems even the least likely candidate may come to play a key role in our future.

And if there is a lesson for us - as Jewish educators - perhaps it is that we need to go out of our way to create powerful emotional moments that remain a part of all who share them, since we can never be sure which of these moments will be brought to the surface at a time we least expect it.

After all, if Yosef hadn't become who he became, if he hadn't provided sustenance for his family during the famine, if he hadn't been willing to forget the harm and remember the good associated with his relatives, the story might have been quite different.

VaYigash

Today's questions are based in large part on "Teaching Torah", by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden, one of the must-have resources for anyone who teaches Torah to learners of any age.  Here are some of the issues raised in the chapter on VaYigash:

• We remember how the brothers felt about Yosef, caused, we agreed in our conversations, by his father Ya'akov's favoritism.  It seems from the text that Binyamin has taken Yosef's place as his father's favorite.  What evidence do we have about their feelings toward Binyamin?  
• Yehudah is to become a prime ancestor of the Jewish people - even his name and the name of his tribe are to be the name of the people in the future (Yehudah/Yehudim).  How has he grown into this role through the story until now?
• Teshuvah is a big part of understanding this parasha.  Which of the personalities has (or have) done teshuvah?  What is the evidence?
• Some stories are told multiple times in this parasha and in those preceding it.  Are they exactly the same each time they are told?  What are some of the reasons a story changes with retelling?  How do we define "history" if the story changes over time?
• The people of Yosef's family are to live separately in the area of Goshen, not totally integrated with the Egyptian population in the rest of the country.  Do you think this is an accident or is it part of a plan?  Explain why you think so.  How does living apart affect a group?  Why do some people choose to live mostly with people who share their identity (homogeneous community) while others prefer a more heterogeneous community?  
• Serach is a granddaughter of Yaakov.  I have a friend who recently added the name "Serach" to her own name.  I invite you to read about Serach and try to figure out why she may have done this.  Serach Bat Asher is a study guide from Hillel.org which, while intended primarily for use around Pesach, is a thorough examination of this character.  Serach is Model for Jewish Memory  is an essay by Rabbi Neil Gilman of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

I urge you to share your thoughts about these questions with other readers by posting a comment.  We learn best when we learn together.